best gateway. ever.

So yeah, we've all heard about it.

You know the Gateway to the West and all that.

But honestly, in person, it's really pretty amazing.
Rising 630 feet above the ground, the Arch overlooks the Mississippi river. And from the top of it, I was very sure that I saw a snake in the water. David told me that I did not, that it looked too much like a branch for his taste. Whatever. I preferred to call it serpentine and the fact that it wasn't moving could have been due to a number of things. Sure, one could have been that it was in fact a branch, but let's not jump to conclusions, people. It could have just been a very lazy snake. Just because I am at times inanimate, and could look like a branch if it is dark and you squint, people don't start doubting my existence. Which is the same courtesy I was trying to afford the snake.

Um, or the branch.
The guard at the entrance to the underbelly of the Arch was quite friendly. I told him I liked his arch and he replied with a thank you, since I did build it and it was hard to miss the twinkle in his eye. He then informed us that the actual designer, Eero Saarinen, came up with the idea by holding each end of a chain and letting the links dangle in between. I guess the inverted arch struck him and voila! you've got the tallest man-made monument in the country.

Once I got over the shocking news that the security guard did not in fact make the Arch, I actually found that whole chain process a little disappointingly simple. I mean, really? Just dangle a chain? Come on, famous Finnish designer whose name I don't even know how to pronounce--I could do that!
No-brainer idea or not, the inside of the Arch is quite fun. Simply put, there are these little pods that travel up to the top. You get inside and start climbing and just for a second it feels like you could be in Star Trek (now that the new movie is so great, Star Trek references are pretty cool. So spread the word.).

And at the top, you see the whole city sprawled out before you and the Mississippi winding it's way around the border. The Arch even shifts with the wind a bit, which is disconcerting until you realize that most likely your time to go will not be in the Gateway to the West.

Because what are the chances?

Afterward we sprawled out in the grass underneath, talking about who wants kids and who doesn't, my wedding (simply because they asked), religion, and being generally stupid when we weren't being serious. The sky was a great blue comfort, the warmth from the sun a kiss. Tonight I did the show with little itchy red marks on my back from the grass, but I didn't mind.

They were worth it after today.